Physical Fitness and General Science
Physical Fitness and General Science tests both fitness readiness and school-level science. Fitness components include cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition. Training follows overload, progression, specificity and recovery: the body adapts when stressed slightly above its current capacity, then rests.
Core rules
- Prepare for the events actually tested: a timed run, shuttle run, long jump, sit-ups or push-ups. Train the same energy system and movement pattern.
- First aid follows DRABC: danger, response, airway, breathing, circulation. For a sprain, use RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation.
- Newton's laws: inertia; F = ma; every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
- Speed = distance ÷ time. Convert minutes to seconds before dividing.
- In chemistry, pH below 7 is acidic, 7 is neutral and above 7 is basic.
Worked example
A candidate runs 1,600 m in 8 minutes. Convert time: 8 × 60 = 480 seconds. Speed = 1,600 ÷ 480 = 3.33 m/s. If the question asks for km/h, convert metres to kilometres and seconds to hours: 1.6 km ÷ (8/60 h) = 12 km/h. Pace is time per distance, so it is the reciprocal idea, not the same number.
Traps
- Applying heat immediately to a fresh sprain instead of ice.
- Massaging or vigorously stretching a suspected sprain.
- Confusing speed with pace or forgetting unit conversion.
- Overtraining without recovery and then mistaking fatigue for progress.
- Treating "fitness" as only strength; endurance and flexibility are tested too.
- Confusing mass with weight: mass is in kilograms, weight is a force in newtons.
Keep a simple training log and revise science units alongside each fitness session.